ORC Central European Championship - Shorter format to be offered

by ORC Media on 11 Feb 2014 The fourth edition of the ORC Central European Championship held in Cres, Croatia over June 24-29, 2014 will offer a new format in accordance with new standards introduced this year in the ORC's 2014 edition of the Championship and Event Rules (aka, the Green Book). This new format for regional ORC championships shortens the previous schedule of eight days of registration, measurement and racing to six days, yet still includes a mix of inshore and offshore races.

'There has been widespread interest to shorten the format for championship events at this level to attract more entries interested in having a better balance of time, cost and competitiveness,' said Zoran Grubisa, regatta Chairman. 'So, we decided to try this here in Cres so that we can give teams who are committed to come for the full week an opportunity to relax and enjoy more of what Cres has to offer. This new schedule also opens up the event to teams who could not otherwise commit to a full week of regatta activities.

'We expect this should be regarded as a popular choice, and look forward to attracting more entries.'

Registration and Measurement will be held over Tuesday and Wednesday, June 24-25, with racing to start on Thursday, June 26 and proceed daily through Sunday, June 29, when the final awards will be held immediately after racing concludes. Regatta activities will be based at the full-service ACI Marina within walking distance of the historic center of the ancient and attractive town of Cres,

Seven races are scheduled including one offshore race and six inshore races. Inshore races will be of 1.5 - 2 hours duration and shall have a scoring coefficient of 1.0. The Offshore race will be of 10 - 12 hours duration with a scoring coefficient of 1.2. The championship will be valid if at least three inshore races and the offshore race are completed. One discard will be allowed if five races are completed, but the offshore race shall not be discarded.

Event organizers are offering a discount for entries received before March 1st, when the entries fees rise by €200. Entries are open to any boat with a valid 2014 ORCi certificate with a GPH of <700 sec/mile, and racing will be scored in two classes, with the class split determined by entries received at June 1st.

Fourteen teams from eight countries are already signed up for this year's event, including several that are regular competitors in Cres. These include the 2012 ORC Mediterranean Class A champion, Felix Riedl's TP 52 Aquila from Austria, and the 2012 Class B champion, Inna Vaclavova's M 37 Escandalo from the Czech Republic.